Recently, there has been increasing interest in devices that combine electronics and molecular mechanisms. These systems are able to perform a wide variety of functions that are advantageously used in molecular biology reactions, such as nucleic acid hybridizations, antibody/antigen reactions, clinical diagnostics, and biopolymer synthesis. These systems include any electrode device. The system may have a single electrode or multiple electrodes. One such system is disclosed in “ACTIVE PROGRAMMABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES FOR MOLECULAR BIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS AND DIAGNOSTICS,” Ser. No. 08/146,504, filed Nov. 1, 1993, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,662, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Electrode devices utilize buffers and electrolytes for their operation. A buffer has been defined as a chemical solution that is resistant to change in pH on the addition of acid or alkali. See., e.g., Dictionary of Biotechnology, Second Edition, James Coombs, Stockton Press. As stated there, “traditionally, buffers based on inorganic salts (phosphate, carbonate) and organic acid salts (acetate, citrate, succinate, glycine, maleate, barbiturates, etc.) were used in biological experiments.”
It is the object of this invention to discover buffers and electrolytes that are advantageously used in molecular electronic devices that perform transport, hybridizations, reactions, diagnostics, and/or synthesis.